Paparazzi
by ElizabethanRoad
Summary: You could say that my affair with Draco Malfoy all started with the paparazzi. One Shot. DHr.


Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Paparazzi 

Hermione Granger: 22-year old auror, loyal and virtuous ex-gryfindor, studious bookworm, loving girlfriend, perfect daughter, rule-abiding prefect and Hogwarts Alum, and cheating liar.

Which one doesn't fit?

Yes. That's right. Hermione Grangerwas cheating on her boyfriend.

Wouldn't have guessed it would you? That I would be so horrible as to cheat on my boyfriend and best friend, who also happens to be the savior of the wizarding world.

It's ironic. That the one who always stands by Harry Potter's side is the one who ruined him behind his back.

I did love him. I still do. It wasjust too hard to be with him. Dating the boy-who-lived got pretty damn stressful. Would you like to have the paparazzi for the _Daily Prophet_ constantly on your tail?

Since our defeat of the dark lord, the golden trio and our friends had become celebrities of the wizarding world. Voldemort fell 2 years after our graduation. We did it: Harry, Ron, Ginny, and me.

Like I said, since that fateful day 3 years ago, we've been hot topics. When Harry and I started dating a year and a half ago, the readers of _Witch Weekly_ and the _Prophet_ went crazy.

Thus, we became famous. Everyone wanted to know what we are doing all the time. We had to play the perfect couple everywhere we went. It wasn'teasy.

It all started because of the paparazzi, really.

I was rushing down Diagon Alley, away from some jerk with a camera that calls himself an artist.

I ducked down an abandoned street to get away from him, and ran straight into a tall figure leaning against the wall.

"Oof-" I bumped into him, hard, and he grabbed my waist before I keeled over.

"Careful there!" His voice was familiar, but I couldn't place it.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry I didn't even see you there!" I yelped an apology to the man, who had his face covered by a dark hat.

"No, it's no problem, really. Wait- Granger?" He yanked off his hat and I was suddenly staring at a pale face with icy blue eyes, adorned by blond locks.

"Malfoy! What on earth are you doing here?"

I was shocked. Who wouldn't be?

Draco Malfoy had moved to the light side the summer after our seventh year. It was hard for us to accept him for a while, but after capturing and getting his own aunt put in Azkaban, we trusted him. He was definitely an asset in the final battle.

Soon after Voldemort's downfall, Malfoy disappeared. It was rumored that he'd moved to France to get over the whole ordeal. He lost his parents and many relatives in the battle. We didn't try to find him. We were too busy being excited for our success.

Thus, you can imagine how seeing Draco Malfoy on Diagon Alley after he'd been missing for 3 years would be a surprise.

"I'm back in London." He replied, as if it was the most normal thing he'd ever said.

"What-How…where have you been?" I was suddenly very aware of his right hand, still resting on my hip.

"Its not all that important. But I'm back. How have you been?"

"Well, I'm good. I'm just completely baffled by your being here!" I looked up into his eyes, and saw a strange glittering happiness there.

"Do you, maybe, want to go some where and catch up?" He asked, almost tentatively.

"Yea. Definitely."

"Great," he said, his mouth flipping up into a smirk, "so… leaky cauldron?"

"Um, with the wizarding world's new affinity for paparazzi, I'm thinking somewhere out of the area…"

"Sure. Let's hit it."

We ended up at a quiet Italian restaurant in muggle London. It was nice, informal, and most importantly, away from the cameras. We talked. For a long time. About my job, the news of our world, his plans. When we got to Harry and Ron, things got awkward.

"And the golden boys? How's everyone's favorite trio?" He asked, with a smirk the size of the English Channel, and a playful twinkle in his eye.

"Well, Ron's good. Really good. He's dating Katie Bell. Do you remember her? Nice girl…."

"And everyone's favorite boy-who-wouldn't-die?" After my tsk-ing glance he added, "Kidding, little Gryfindor."

"Harry…he's… Well… we…" Somehow, I couldn't bring myself to tell Malfoy that I was dating Harry.

"Oh… I See. The perfect couple finally got together, huh?" He still had the smirk, but the twinkle was suddenly gone from his eyes.

"Well we-…yea. We're dating."

"Sure, Granger. That's great."

And with that, we ditched the subject of Harry Potter altogether. You would think that someone who supposedly meant everything to me wouldn't be able to stay out of my conversation, but it was surprisingly easy.

So, we kept talking. About anything and everything. Eventually, it was late. Quite late. 1:30 in the morning actually. I was surprised that the restaurant let us stay so long. I really should have been back at my flat hours before, but I couldn't manage to pull myself away from the compelling conversation of Draco Malfoy. I felt the most free and easy I had since my celebrity status set in.

"Malfoy, I've had a great time with you, but I really should get going."

"Yea. Me too, actually. Hey, Granger. Maybe, we should get away from the last-name-basis thing?" He was smiling, but I heard seriousness in his voice.

"Sure, Draco." His name sounded wonderful on my lips, "See you around."

"Hermione," he said it with such a pleasant smooth sound, "We should get together again. Soon, Ok?"

"Yea," I said as I opened the door of the restaurant, "Soon."

And so it started. We became friends. Just friends. But somehow, throughout the whole ordeal, I knew it was wrong, because I never told Harry. I started meeting with Draco every Thursday for dinner. The Prophet found out about his return, and it was all over the papers, but he found time for me, and I for him. It was all great and platonic until one fateful night.

We had returned to my flat after a lovely meal at a French-style restaurant nearby. He'd never seen my flat before. In fact, we'd never been together in a totally private place before.

"So, this is it," I said, stepping into my living room and shutting the door behind Draco, "it isn't very big, but its home."

"I like it." Draco said, taking in the simple but elegant décor.

I found myself blushing. Why?

"Thanks. I'm just going to go grab that book I was telling you about." I walked out of the living room and into my bedroom. I rushed to grab the thick hardback we'd been speaking about at dinner. As I turned from my bookshelf to walk back out of my room, I saw Draco leaning against the doorframe, with a pained expression on his face.

"Hey… I was coming right back out, I've got the book."

"Hermione, I… I think I should go." He looked away from me, towards the bed, the bookshelf, the bathroom. Anywhere but my face.

"What…Draco why?" I was confused. We'd had a great time that night.

"I've had…we…. I've been lying to you Hermione."

"What do you mean?" I walked towards him and he put out a hand to stop me.

"This thing that we're doing, this friend thing, isn't going to work anymore. I can't keep pretending that it will. I can't be your friend, Hermione."

"Why can't you, Draco?" I shouldn't have asked him. I could feel what the answer was going to be. I shouldn't have made him say it, but I had to.

"Because of this," He said as he walked purposefully to where I stood by my bed, grabbed my waist, pulled me into him, and kissed me.

It took me a minute to react. What was I doing? This was my friend. What about Harry? Harry. This is wrong. This is cheating. I shouldn't-

But then his lips pushed against mine a little harder and all rational thinking left me.

I kissed back just as intensely. His tongue slipped in between my lips and started a slow and sensual trail around my mouth.

I leaned back so that we tumbled onto the bed together. We landed lightly and I laced my arms around his neck. I couldn't stop. It felt so perfect.

Suddenly, Draco pulled back. I whimpered slightly from the sudden lack of contact.

With his arms still around my waist, Draco looked down at me. His eyes revealed pain and lust and wanting.

"Hermione, I told you. I should leave. We shouldn't be doing this. I don't know if I'll be able to stop if you don't tell me to right now." His eyes begged me to say yes and no at the same time.

"Draco… stop thinking." With that his lips crashed back down on mine.

Within minutes both of our shirts and pants were off. His hands were worshiping my chest and I was marveling at his toned stomach. One of his hands slipped down to my waistband of my underwear and slipped underneath the elastic.

"Is this okay?" he asked, looking down at me with an innocent expression.

My head spun. This was a huge deal. I looked up into his eyes and made my decision.

"Yes."

So, I started an affair. Draco Malfoy was undoubtedly the best sex I had ever had. We kept up with our Thursday dinners… as well as several other meetings throughout the week. Deep down, I knew I should stop. But I couldn't.

I continued to play the perfect girlfriend to Harry. No one suspected anything for a long time. Nobody could fathom why Hermione would cheat, so they all assumed I was faithful as ever, even as I drifted.

On Christmas Eve, about 2 months after the start of my affair, Harry asked me to marry him at the Ministry Christmas Ball. I said yes. What else could I do? Dump him, there in front of the entire ministry of magic? Draco was at the ball. The expression on his face when Harry said yes was enough to turn the warmest spring to ice.

I felt horrible. The next day, I went to see Draco and begged for his forgiveness. I said I was sorry. So sorry. He told me he loved me. I said it back, and he yelled at me. Told me that if I really loved him I wouldn't have said yes.

He doesn't get it. I can't hurt Harry. I just can't.

He didn't really forgive me, but we got past it and managed to continue our affair. I begged Harry for a long engagement and he agreed. I was trying to get as much time as I could.

In February, things went sour. We were at my flat, lying in the afterglow of sensational sex, when Draco turned to me.

"Leave him." He said, his expression deadly serious.

"Draco, you know I can't." I begged him to understand.

"Can't? Or just won't. God, Hermione. I can't look at you, kiss you, or sleep with you, without thinking about how he does it too. I can't do this anymore."

"What? No, Draco, you can't be serious."

"Actually, Hermione, I can be. And I am." He started to get up and get dressed.

"Draco, please. Don't do this. Why do we have to change things? This is working, isn't it?"

"Damn it, Hermione! Don't you get it? I don't want to be your lover. I want to be your boyfriend, your husband. I'm don't want to be second to Potter. I will not be second to him." Draco was dressed and walking out of the door to my bedroom. I frantically leapt up, pulling on a T-shirt and rushed after him. I grabbed his shoulder just as he was about to open the door.

"You can't leave me." I said I as an order. I didn't mean it to come out like that.

"You won't leave Potter. Goodbye, Hermione." With that he yanked open the door and apparated away.

I was lost. The one man I was sure I could be with forever had left me, and now all I had was the man I'd said I could be with forever. I did the only thing I knew I could do. I went back to Harry, and pretended nothing was wrong. I was good at it by then.

We decided to cut off our long engagement and just get married. The sooner we were married, the sooner I would stop hurting. Or at least, that's what I told myself.

And so, I found myself at the front of a church on March 23rd, dressed in all white. I was trying to hold back tears as the minister started the service. They weren't happy tears.

Just as my watery eyes threatened to unleash their tears, the back door of the church slammed open.

"STOP!" Yelled a tall figure at the back, wearing a dark hat. I knew who he was immediately.

Harry had his wand out in seconds. The guy was still a bit war- paranoid. "What is this?" Harry asked.

"You," He said, pointing to me, "Can not marry him."

"Why the hell can't she?" Harry asked, sounding defensive, but nervous.

"Because, I'm in love with her," Draco Malfoy admitted as he pulled of his hat. The whole room collectively gasped.

"Hermione…What is this?" Harry asked, almost hysterically.

"This, Harry, is the truth." I replied steadily, "I…I'm in love with Draco Malfoy. It wouldn't be fair to you for me to marry you. I…we need to leave."

There was a clang throughout the church as Harry dropped his wand to the ground. Ron, Ginny, and Katie all stared at me like I'd just said the most disgusting thing in the world.

I walked over to Harry, who was frozen in his spot. I placed my hand on his shoulder and leaned up to his ear.

"Harry, I'm sorry. But this has to happen. I love you, please find it in your heart to someday forgive me." With that, I stood on my toes and kissed his cheek, before looking back to a smiling Draco Malfoy.

"Let's go." I mouthed to him, and he took my hand and ran out of the church. After we exited the doors, he grabbed my waist and spun me into him, before kissing me firmly on the lips. I could feel his smile through the kiss.

"I love you, Hermione Granger." He said, when we broke apart.

"I love you too." I said, as a little man with a camera jumped from a bush as his flash went off.

The next morning, the headline of _Witch Weekly_ stated "GRANGER AND MALFOY TO BE MARRIED!" in huge print, with a mammoth picture of us outside of the church kissing.

My affair started with the paparazzi, and you could say it ended with them too.

A/N: I hope you all liked it! Please review!


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